Sharp will launch high-end 8K TVs brand in the U.S

Japanese electronics maker Sharp plans to launch a high-end television brand in the U.S.

The Japanese electronics maker has already applied for a trademark for the brand, the representative said. Sales are expected to start in fiscal 2018, which begins in April, at the earliest.

Sharp plans to bring its global TV sales to 10 million units by the end of fiscal 2018, double the figure in fiscal 2016. To that end, the company had revealed plans to re-enter the TV markets in the Americas.

The new brand is expected to be a large-scale model with a 60-inch or bigger screen.

Sharp currently produces Aquos-brand TVs. The new line will include only high-end TVs equipped with state-of-the-art technologies such as 8K resolution.

In fiscal 2008, Sharp sold a record 2.8 million TVs in the Americas. But the business later became unprofitable, and the company decided to shed it amid a management crisis.

It then sealed a licensing agreement with Hisense Group to allow the major Chinese electronics maker to produce and sell TVs under Sharp brands in the Americas excluding Brazil until the end of 2020.

Sharp reversed its strategy after it became a unit of Hon Hai Precision Industry, a Taiwanese contract manufacturer better known as Foxconn, in 2016. It is currently in talks with Hisense to buy back the license but is struggling to reach an agreement.